Doctor Joshua W. Hering

Dr. Joshua Webster Hering was born in Frederick County on March 8th, 1833. When he was eighteen, Hering moved to Westminster and undertook an apprenticeship with Jacob Reese & Sons. In 1853, Hering began studying with a local physician, Dr. William A. Mathias. Two years later, he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Maryland. That same year, Hering married Margaret Henrietta Trumbo. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters, and were married until Margaret’s death in 1883. Following Margaret’s death, Hering remained a widower for five years until he remarried to Catherine E. Armacost.

Following his graduation from University of Maryland, Hering returned to Westminster and established a medical practice. During the Civil War, he aided army medics in treating wounded soldiers at local engagements, including the Battle of Gettysburg. In 1867, Hering was set to retire from medicine and relocate permanently to Virginia when the Union National Bank in Westminster offered him the position of “cashiership” (president). Hering’s acuity with financial matters helped him to the presidency of the Maryland State Bankers’ Association in 1898. He also served three terms as the comptroller of the treasury in Maryland.

In addition to his work as a physician and in finances, Hering also had an interest in politics. He served four years as the Carroll County representative to the Maryland State Legislature and was one of three appointees to the newly formed Maryland Public Commission in 1910.

Hering was also heavily involved in the Methodist Protestant Church. He served as superintendent for the local Sunday school for twenty-five years, president of the church’s board of trustees, and a member of the General Conference of the church for ten years. In 1892 and 1896, Hering was elected president of the General Conference, the only layman to serve in that role up to that time.

Ever present in local matters, Hering was actively engaged in the early years of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College). He served on the Board of Trustees for forty-five years, including as treasurer and president of the board following J.T. Ward’s death in 1897. Hering was also a regular lecturer at the college in topics such as anatomy and physiology. Finally, he was a charter member of the board of governors for Westminster Theological Seminary when it was formed in 1882.

Hering died on September 13th, 1913 at the age of eighty.